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Blue Ridge Parkway

A 469-mile scenic road along the Blue Ridge from Shenandoah to the Great Smoky Mountains. This section curves round Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.

StartFinish
18.1 kmLength
57Pace-note calls
0Hairpins
0Tight corners (1–2)
↑340 ↓210Climb and drop, m
≈1,350 mHighest point

Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on this route. Heights come from terrain data and can differ from signposted figures by a few tens of metres.

Where is the Blue Ridge Parkway?

The Blue Ridge Parkway is in the USA. The route on this page: Moses Cone Park (milepost 294) to Beacon Heights (milepost 305), round Grandfather Mountain and over the Linn Cove Viaduct, 18.1 km.

Why the Blue Ridge Parkway is famous

The Linn Cove Viaduct, completed in 1983, carries the road round the face of Grandfather Mountain on a curving 1,243 ft concrete deck. It closed the last gap in the parkway, which opened end to end in 1987.

Blue Ridge Parkway corners

Over 18.1 km Turini calls 37 corners graded 1 to 6, plus 2 crests and 5 dips. That is 57 calls in all, one every 317 metres on average. Grade 1 is the tightest, 6 is nearly straight (how to read pace notes).

10
20
34
417
510
66

Blue Ridge Parkway elevation profile

From 1,168 m at the start to 1,292 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 1,350 m.

1,400 m1,000 m
0 km9.1 km18.1 km

Blue Ridge Parkway pace notes, first few km

The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.

55 mBridge
145 mLeft 4 very long over crest
835 mRight 4 long
1.15 kmLeft 6 very long
1.22 kmBridge
2.21 kmDip
2.71 kmCrest
2.80 kmDip
3.32 kmBridge
3.40 kmLeft 5 long in dip
4.75 kmDip
4.85 kmBig crest
4.97 kmDip
5.13 kmDip
6.42 kmBridge
7.11 kmLeft 6
7.59 kmLeft 5 long
7.84 kmRight 4 long
8.23 kmRight 4 long
8.42 kmLeft 5 long opens
8.79 kmLeft 4 very long
8.90 kmBridge
9.16 kmRight 5 long
9.51 kmLeft 4 long
9.54 kmBridge

That takes you to 9.54 km. 32 more calls follow over the remaining 8.5 km.

Before you drive the Blue Ridge Parkway

Open all year in principle, but sections close in winter for snow and ice, and storm damage has closed parts for long periods. Check the National Park Service closure map.

The speed limit is 45 mph at most and commercial traffic is not allowed. It is a road for taking your time.

How to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway with Turini

Set the route before you leave and Turini saves its notes on the phone, so it works with the screen off and no signal. On the road it reads each call about 4.5 seconds before the corner, timed to your speed, and you never touch the phone. It also works through Android Auto. If pace notes are new to you, start in Simple mode (Easy, Medium, Hard) and switch to the 1–6 scale once it feels natural.

Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.

More roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway

Tail of the DragonUSA18.5 km · 176 calls · 21 hairpins
Cherohala SkywayUSA40.4 km · 131 calls
Million Dollar HighwayUSA37.8 km · 149 calls · 12 hairpins

Best driving roads in the USA · All famous roads · How to read pace notes

Sources: Wikipedia: Blue Ridge Parkway, Wikipedia: Linn Cove Viaduct.

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